5 days after reports of 650 more Microsoft gaming layoffs, the company announces plans to pay out even more money to shareholders

Microsoft is set to start paying out even more to its shareholders in November, despite recent reports that the company is laying off 650 people from its gaming staff.

As reported by Bloomberg, Microsoft shareholders will soon see an increased quarterly dividend payout for every share they have. Come November 21, this is going up by 10%, to 83 cents per share rather than the current 75 cents. What's more, the company has announced a $60 billion scheme to buy back its stocks, replacing a separate program of the same value which Microsoft announced in 2021.

That's a lot of money – bear in mind that Microsoft previously acquired Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, so this isn't far off being in the same ballpark. All in all, it could be considered questionable timing, too, given that the announcement comes less than a week after it was reported that the company is laying off 650 of its gaming staff. Reportedly, most of the people affected hold corporate and support roles, with no games studios set to be closed as a result. 

Microsoft's gaming teams have already had a rough year, as back in January, a separate 1,900 roles were cut across its Blizzard, Zenimax, and Xbox teams, and the closure of studios Tango Gameworks and Arcane Austin was announced in May. While Tango was later resurrected by Krafton, with around 50 staff re-hired in the process, it's still more than fair to say it's been a turbulent time.

It's worth noting that these quarterly dividends and the stock buyback scheme all relate to Microsoft in its entirety rather than just its gaming subsection, but even so, Bloomberg reports that, in July, the company said its free cash flow was up 18% year over year.

As layoffs batter the industry, FromSoftware boss Hidetaka Miyazaki says now is the time "for us to continue to grow and continue to cultivate this talent."